When we’re trying to juggle lots of things, the most important thing to ensure we get things done, is to get organised.

Many of us use online organisers and notebook systems, like Evernote, or google calendar, (yes, we’re an android/google house here) to manage reminders of tasks, meetings, and capture information for using in the future.

I’m personally a fan of writing things down. It helps me remember things I need to do, and process those things into pockets of time, or slots in my head and then my diary. My friend recently bought me a “List Book” with sticky notes, and list pages which has been perfect for the way I work.

We’ll look at CRM systems, (Customer relationship management), in the future. Today is just about the basics.

 

Getting organised tips

Whilst this isn’t an exhaustive list, it should help you work out a system for you, and your team, to get organised and get the tasks completed on time:

  • Have a diary which is accessible to your team and/or family and ALL use it. If you use a hard copy and an online calendar, make sure they are the same at least once a week.
  • Have one, yes one, To Do list. The master copy if you like. Ideally break this down into smaller tasks, and have headings for each part of the business or family life it affects e.g. Finances, Website, Customer service, Shopping.
  • From the To Do list, prioritise one thing each week from each heading.
  • Create a weekly activity planner and add your priorities into this planner. Ensure the planner has all your meetings, time out, children’s activities and dentist appointments in it, so you have slots of time to schedule your tasks into.
  • If you manage a team of people, assign tasks from the priority lists with the day and time they need completing. Set reminders on your phone/calendar to follow up the work has been completed.
  • If you use an online task planner, at the end of each day, update it.
  • Using a paper planner, cross things off as you do them.
  • If a task hasn’t been completed, ensure you write it on another day’s planner to complete, or assign to a team member with the deadline for completion
  • Don’t beat yourself up if the tasks don’t get done because of an unexpected emergency. Simply reschedule & update customers, if it may affect them. Customers are humans too, and whilst we do our best to complete work on time, life does sometimes get in the way. They usually understand if they’re made aware at the earliest point in time

What are your getting organised tips to make this work around the house and in your business?